Well, I don’t have much time for this entry, but I just got back from the Resolution Run and wanted to quickly get my thoughts down.
This was just a 5K. Though there was really no pressure to perform, I wanted to try and run a good race. “Good” for me, at this time, is an unknown. I haven’t been training, just getting in a few workouts here and there. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could do.
It was cold – I think the temperature read 20 degrees when I woke up this morning. The good thing was that there was no wind and it became sunny out (I forgot sunglasses). The biggest obstacle was all the ice on the trail. I’m a bit nervous about ice because I have a horrible sense of balance, so most of my run was on the side just along the path.
I was pretty much out of breath right at the start and my heart rate was much too high. I was getting tired and losing steam fast…then I hit mile 1! OUCH! I had to slow down. The air was cold enough and I was breathing hard enough that it hurt. I spent the next mile jumping off and on the trail because it did feel easier when I could run on dry pavement vs. the somewhat packed snow on the sides of the trail. The last mile was pitiful. I felt like I was reduced to a jog, but I kept trying to remind myself this was just a baseline. On a positive note, I felt no pain in the shin!
I think this was my 2nd slowest ever 5K. (The slowest 5K I’ve ever done was over 30 minutes…my first one, with no training at all). I knew not to expect much, however, I did expect to go faster than the close 28 minutes I put on the board today. Seeing as it was called the “Resolution Run” I thought about what Resolutions I would make before the new year. Then I decided I was working too hard to think about such things! Besides, I already have my resolutions all written out.
Today’s time disappointed me, but in looking at my lack of run training for the last 6 months, I’m not really sure what I expected. But I am coming away with 2 positive things from today: 1 – no shin pain! WOO HOO! 2 – it will be fun to watch as I make improvements on today’s race time.
